A new arrival in an area or in a group of young friends.
Read the full origin →Established 1997 · researched & written by Gary Martin
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Saint Peter famously walked on water when he was full of faith. But when his faith left him, he sank. It makes sense that "petered out" could be a reference to this.
Jane Eyre, chapter 17, has "beauty is in the eye of the gazer" in quotes. It's 1847, so well before Hungerford.
I live on an island of buildings going to rack and ruin and appreciate the sentiment. I find it interesting that the term's usage spiked following WWI, when Europe was in a state…
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From the Phrase Finder Digest
- Back-To-School Sayings Are Older And Sharper Than They Sound
Every late August, Britain reaches for the same handful of sayings about school, teaching and stubborn learners. Their origins turn out to be older, sourer and stranger than the classroom clichés suggest.
2 September 2026
- The Bank Holiday Moved Dates, But These Rest Phrases Never Changed Meaning
The August bank holiday shifted from the first Monday of the month to the last for most of the UK in the late 1960s. The phrases we use about rest and idleness have their own, stranger histories.
26 August 2026
Based on Google Books usage over the last ~25 years. Refreshes each build.
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- MeaningLike a moth to a flameIrresistibly drawn towards a person or a thing that is likely to harm you.
- MeaningMénage à troisMénage à trois is French for a household of three, and in English it means an arrangement in which three people live together and have sexual relationships with each other.
- MeaningTout de suiteTout de suite, often misspelled tout suite, is French for at once or immediately.
- MeaningA bird in the hand is worth two in the bushA bird in the hand is worth two in the bush means that what you already hold is worth more than a prize you might never get.
- MeaningA picture is worth a thousand wordsA single picture can carry an idea that would take a long stretch of writing to explain.
- MeaningA swarm in May is worth a load of hayThe later it is in the year, the less time available for bees to collect pollen from flowers in blossom
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Phrases.org.uk has been documenting the meaning and origin of phrases, sayings and idioms since 1997. Every entry is researched and written by Gary Martin, with citations to the earliest printed use we can find.
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